Leskovac

Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}pronounced [lěskoʋats]) is a city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city of Leskovac has 123,950 inhabitants. Leskovac was historically called Glubočica, later evolving into Dubočica. These interchangeable variants derived from the Serbian word's, "glib", meaning mud and "duboko", meaning deep. Untamed rivers would often flood the area leaving swamps that once dried would spout hazelnut trees, or "leska" in Serbian, whilst "-ovac" is a common Slavic suffix, hence Leskovac. During Ottoman rule the town was referred to in Turkish as Leskovçe or Hisar (Turkish translation; fortress).[3][4] Archeological findings on Hisar Hill, located at the rim of Leskovac valley between the Jablanica and  Veternica rivers, have established continual habitation between the Bronze Age until the 19th century. Hisar served as a fortification for many centuries and its surrounding plateau are abundant in Iron Age pottery largely associated with the Brnjica culture.[5] Other archeological findings associated with the Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, Greeks, Romans and Celts lay within Leskovac's surrounds.[6][7][8] The Roman Empire conquered the area in the 1st century BC and would remain the dominant power until Slavic invasion and settlement in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, with the Serbs solidifying their presence.